Heat exchangers provide proper pasteurization and allow brands to produce high-quality soups in a large-scale production. HRS Heat Exchangers, a thermal technology and exchanger developer, provides machinery that plays an important role in the production of gazpacho and salmorejo, Spanish soups that require delicate cooking processes.
Gazpacho is a cold tomato soup associated with the Southern region of Andalusia, Spain. It might be less popular overseas than some of Spain’s other culinary imports but is esteemed in its home country. What started as a summer dish for local farmers and their families has gained popularity with the broader Spanish population and tourists due to its refreshing properties and fresh taste.
Demand for gazpacho has driven its commercial production. Large scale modern production began in Murcia, Spain in the 1990s. As such, large suppliers, who often supply heavily pasteurized product in large quantities, and smaller companies, continue to bring gazpacho and salmorejo products to the market.
Salmorejo resembles gazpacho but is thickened with bread. Thus, it is eaten with a spoon from a bowl, while gazpacho is usually drunk as a cold soup. Most manufacturers of gazpacho now also produce salmorejo, according to insight from Francisco Hernández Ortiz, Global Food Projects Director at HRS Heat Exchangers.
Premium gazpacho and salmorejo products are made using good quality fresh vegetables and minimum processing. The soups are often sold as “unprocessed” products with a short shelf life and higher price. In addition, they are often packaged in smaller plastic bottles, which allows consumers to see the product on the shelf.
Enter the HRS MI Series multi-tube heat exchanger
The HRS MI Series allows gazpacho and salmorejo producers to operate within appropriate parameters.Image provided by HRS Heat Exchangers
The thick, viscous nature of gazpacho and salmorejo requires the use of tubular heat exchangers, as opposed to plate heat exchangers (PHE). Each soup may contain grains, bread, or vegetable fibers. These ingredients are crafted to be “authentic” or “homemade.” Many production lines are now used to producing both gazpacho and salmorejo, so equipment needs to be flexible and able to handle thicker products. This is where the food grade HRS MI Series multi-tube heat exchanger comes in.
The MI Series is designed to help soups maintain product freshness according to their required production capacity.
Cold soups like gazpacho have the challenge of keeping a distinct freshness. Thus, pasteurization processes must be as gentle as possible. The process must be fast but done at the lowest possible temperature followed by an immediate cooling stage. Pasteurization pressure is typically maintained between 16 and 25 bar. Yet, higher pressures are sometimes necessary to produce salmorejo. The small temperature gap prevents the soup products from being overcooked.
The corrugated tube design of the HRS MI Series allows it to operate within the appropriate parameters for the soups’ productions.
HRS Heat Exchangers continues to work to help maintain the quality of small-batch, high-quality brands while ensuring consistency and food safety for consumers.
